The Waiting
by FredGeorgeWazlib
Summary: Ursula has a new plan involving the largest gathering of villains history has ever known, and somehow Jaimie, a highschool girl, gets caught in the middle of it! When Disney's finest heroes are dropped into her world, what will change?
1. Prologue: The Magic

**Author's Note/Disclaimer: **

Hey all! I've wanted to write this forever. In my head, this is truly my best work. Whether that will translate onto e-paper, we will have to see.

This is a Disney crossover story with only one OC; the rest of the characters will be Disney (which I do not own). Be warned, though: I plan to take extreme artistic license with characters and pairings alike. **No one is safe. **Seriously, people, there will be some freaky-deaky pairings up in here. Now, please, enjoy!

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><p>"<em>There is something about words<em>. _In expert hands, manipulated deftly, they take you prisoner. Wind themselves around your limbs like spider silk, and when you are so enthralled you cannot move, they pierce your skin, enter your blood, numb your thoughts._

_Inside you they work their_

_**Magic.**_

Ursula drummed her fingers slowly, deliberately, as she watched everyone gather around the extensive dining room table. Her long, black fingernails tapped against the polished surface, leaving a sharp click for each person that walked in.

Resting her fat chin on her other hand, she smiled a broad, indulgent smile at Hades, Lord of the Underworld, as he made his way towards her. His calm, blue flames had turned a malicious, bloody red in the glow of the lava, which poured down around them from all sides.

This would be a gathering that history would not soon forget.

Unfortunately, the room in which it was taking place wasn't quite her style, but technology was imperative.

Ursula had tried to persuade the others once without success. Only James had believed her before she had brought back the "tapes". After a few days of wondering through the worlds, looking for someone who would have the capabilities of watching them, she had found Syndrome, which is why they were in his lair now and not hers.

He had temporarily relinquished the head chair and was now sitting directly opposite her at the end of the long table. If he knew anything at all, it was technology. Ursula had to admit his tinkering had its uses, but she still preferred her magic. Oh, the magic…

Ursula caressed the shell necklace around her neck tenderly, remembering the time she had lured a certain, little mermaid's voice into it and trapped it there. Yes, it was a beautiful thing, the magic. She loved it. She had practiced it for years, but still –she thought with annoyance –had a long way to go before perfecting it. That was why she was jealous of any of those in the room who could perform it half as well as her, and yet…she needed them.

It was hardly a pleasant situation, she had to admit, but a necessary one, and that was why they had filed in, all of those villains, one by one.

Hades, the short-tempered master of death, had already slipped into the seat to her immediate right.

Syndrome, a man with a desperate need to prove himself, was greeting the others as they entered. The pride he held for his lair was written all over his face.

Frollo, who always seemed to have a permanent hungry look about him, refused to sit. He peered down his hooked nose at the lava falls that contained the room as if he had just entered the pits of hell.

Jafar, the cunning, deceitful vizier and backstabber sat to the right of Hades and engaged him in conversation. Ursula had taken great care to monitor the snake staff he always kept beside him.

John Silver, yet another tinkerer, whose self-centered greed caused him to stop at nothing until he got what he wanted, now took his seat next to Syndrome, who questioned him eagerly on his mechanical limbs.

The great cats, Scar and Shere Khan, a lion and a tiger, respectively, whose primitive instincts were bloody and depraved, reclined lazily on the floor.

Most important of all, though, to Ursula, was Captain James Hook, a man she highly esteemed for his dark intelligence. He was the one most crucial to this plan. Her closest confidant in this undertaking, he would perform the darkest deed of all…

He had been the first to arrive, yet refused to sit, opting to lean against the doorway instead. At first glance, he appeared unremarkable compared to the others with all of their eccentricities and black talents, and yet none of this would have happened had it not been for him.

Simultaneously perfect and broken, refined and wild, light and dark, his receptive, startingly blue eyes seemed to take in everything they fell upon in a single glance. When those eyes fell upon her, Ursula felt the world stop turning.

It was almost as if those days of poring over maps and plans on his ship at Neverland had happened only yesterday. The long summer had stretched lazily on and on until finally…everything had fallen into place.

It was time to begin.

When Ursula gave the signal, the rest of the villains, witches all of them, fanned out behind her chair at the grand table. They, she needed for their magic—their power, rather than their expertise. Ursula didn't trust a single one of them.

None of them could match her, of course. She was by far the most talented witch in this room.

Who had found a way into their respective worlds? Who had broken the barrier just to find out that their worlds even existed? Who had found out that their worlds were connected, all of them, including a wonderfully mundane little world that would serve her purposes perfectly?

It hadn't been Morgana, for sure. Her insolent younger sister's crackpot magic paled in utter insignificance when compared to her own astounding power.

It hadn't been Maleficent, who, Ursula found, cared more about reigning over even the smallest of places than risking it all to become something truly great.

It hadn't been the Queen, either, though Ursula was a tad bit uneasy with their alliance. She didn't like that she didn't know her name – that nobody knew her name. Names held power in magic, which gave the Queen something over Ursula.

The only reason Ursula had allowed it in the end was that the Queen was a shallow, silly creature, more concerned with being the most beautiful thing in the room than being the most respected.

_Beauty._

Ursula hated the word. Magic was the only truly beautiful thing in the world. It was a dangerous mix of human limitations and the dark unknown of hidden potential. She was going to harness it from these other witches, but there was another she would borrow it from as well.

The plan was this: the villains were going to take all of the heroes, the princesses, the irritatingly loyal sidekicks of their worlds and dump them all into one world, a narrow little world filled with disbelief and ignorance where the heroes, surely, would wither away.

With them gone, they could easily take charge of all of their worlds. There was just one thing that Ursula worried about.

Even with the help of all of these witches, Ursula would need more power.

Had all of the heroes been together in this world, it would not have taken nearly as much magic to send them all away. But because they were scattered, littering all of these worlds far from each other like the stars in a constellation, it would take more concentration.

And more magic.

Which was why Ursula had found, to her delight and horror, a witch in the "real" world, as the inhabitants there called it.

Interestingly enough, the witch had no idea of the gift they possessed. People in that world didn't really believe in that sort of thing, after all.

But the fatal flaw in the plan was this – the witch seemed to know all about them, and magic, unfortunately, was a contagious thing. If the witch's powers awakened when Ursula made use of them, the witch might help the heroes back, and that would be a problem.

She had reasoned that the possibility was low considering the way the inhabitants of that world seemed to go about with blinders, unable to see all that was even a little bit extraordinary and difficult to understand.

But this was not an undertaking where chances could be taken.

Ursula needed to eliminate the witch as soon as their purpose was fulfilled. So, once the heroes were plucked out of their worlds and were all sent spiraling into the new one, once they had forgotten everything, once they were left defenseless in a world so unlike their own…Ursula would send James Hook into that world, making sure to keep his memory intact…and, once there…

He would kill the witch.

There was one other loose end, however, that had been overlooked, missed entirely, by Ursula, and he was standing oh-so-quietly, watching intently from the entrance of the room, only a stone's throw away from the brooding captain at his position by the door.

Here was another who loved the magic, who had sold his very soul to the magic, and who was angry – very angry – and bitter about being left out: Dr. Facilier.

The lava cast dull shadows along the marble floor, but his shadow stood in sharp relief beside him, its expression impish.

In rejecting the idea of including the good voodoo doctor, Ursula had made a dangerous enemy, an enemy with a chip on both shoulders, everything to gain, and nothing to lose, save himself, and he was determined to involve himself with this endeavor.

A connection to other worlds? It was too glorious to resist. To think he could have not only his world, but an endless realm of worlds full of souls right at his very fingertips.

With all of this magic on the table, spread out like a dangerous fortune spelled out in tarot cards, they would change the fate of many.

All at once, a terrible moment of silence came over the room, a silence of anticipation.

Tension and energy and everything volatile and changeable were suddenly tangible in the hearts of everyone in the room. Even Scar's great tail stopped flicking as his body fell to stillness, and he opened those malicious green eyes to see what would happen next.

It was time to make magic happen.

Facilier's shadow swirled in unbridled excitement as he began to feel the heroes go out like little lights while Ursula took charge of the spell. He felt them rushing, rushing towards their destination, struggling to put themselves back together again as if they had been torn apart and left without a clue as to how they should recreate themselves in such a strange world.

Twisted. Raw. _Beautiful._

James straightened and walked forward, captivated by the sight of the largest gathering of witches the world had ever known.

But as he did, Dr. Facilier leapt forward, skeleton cane in hand. His shadow flew ahead of him in its excitement, its mouth flapping in a silent, mirthful laugh.

The pirate captain spotted the spiteful little thing too late, and the others were too transfixed to notice what was going on behind them. Jafar was watching the spectacle before him as if he were a victim of his own mesmerizing staff.

Only Ursula, when she opened her eyes for a split second, saw the encounter. Quickly, she gave a cry of warning. Facilier's shadow recoiled, looking from master to sea witch uncertainly.

That's when, tapping him in the shoulder with the ominous cane, Facilier knighted Hook with all of the feelings of anger and oppression and jealousy he had ever felt and sent he and himself to that other world along with all of the other heroes in a shower of malignant purple sparks.

Falling into the void, Dr. Facilier smiled his crooked smile – a smile mirrored by his shadow. He had single-handedly set Ursula's plans back a step in true villainous fashion, and the game…was no longer just hers.


	2. Once Upon a Dream

**ARTtastic – **Thanks for reviewing! I'm pretty Disney obsessed myself (if that wasn't obvious), and I looked for something like this forever, too, but had no luck. So I decided I had to stop being my incredibly lazy self – hold me to it!

**Pearl Bramble of Willowbottom **– Thank you so much, and I would like to continue it, yes. It's a matter of if my poor time management skills allow it. Essentially, I have had this entire story (and its sequel) planned for quite some time now and have only just started writing it down. Therefore, I have no excuses. I hope you'll keep me on top of things!

**Author's Note/Disclaimer: **

So, not much action in this one, people. It ended up taking a while to introduce everyone properly, and I always try to stop myself at around 2,000 words. So this, basically, is a character chapter (none of which I own, besides Jaimie), but I hope you'll enjoy it anyways. More adventure in the next one.

Also, Spring Break is coming up for me in about…thirteen days? Oh, wow, is that all? I'm hoping to get a lot of writing on this story done then, so it definitely won't be a whole month before the next chapter again. I am sincerely sorry about that!

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><p><em>As a reader, I loathe introductions.<em>

_Introductions inhibit pleasure, they kill the joy of anticipation,…_

…_they frustrate curiosity._

Wednesday of the first week of school, and already Jaimie had gotten her fair share of embarrassment for the year.

Mortified, she reached for her tray, which had skidded a few feet back towards the lunch line.

Usually, she wouldn't even be in the cafeteria for lunch, opting to tutor kids down at the middle school instead, but her usual sixth-grader was at home, sick with the flu.

She had been feeling increasingly tired all morning…almost as if the energy were being sucked out of her. She had felt dizzy for a moment, too – just a split second where it seemed the world was spinning beyond her control.

Maybe she was coming down with it, too.

More than likely, she would hear the story in study hall later when people would be talking about it, unaware that she was in the same room. She would piece their whispering together quietly in a corner while she studied for algebra, hoping they wouldn't notice her and make things awkward.

Now, she stared forlornly at the peas dribbling down her new uniform skirt – peas she had only taken to avoid the disapproving gaze of the lunch lady who always told her she didn't eat enough. The rest of the vile things dotted the floor around her like a constellation of little failures.

She swiped a few napkins from a nearby table and started cleaning them up, telling herself it all wasn't as bad as it seemed – a tactic that never worked, really, because if you have to tell yourself it's not that bad, it probably is.

Her apple seemed to agree with her as it rolled its way through the cafeteria – like the rival shade of red on her face had offended it deeply – until it came to a little halt on somebody's shoe.

A few moments later, those shoes were in front of her.

Jaimie stopped scrubbing abruptly as her eyes worked their way up the scuffed-up sneakers – a rarity in the private-school halls of Riverdale – to an extended hand, and from there to a dazzling smile.

"Need some help?" the boy asked.

He was an Arab boy, tall and skinny, with a shock of dark black hair. He had a kind smile, and Jaimie found herself taking his hand gratefully.

"Thank you," she said fervently, taking her apple back when he offered it.

"Awww, I wouldn't take that, Jaimie," someone called suddenly from the next table over, "He's a scholarship student. Who knows where those shoes have been?"

Jaimie frowned, but the boy turned to the others good-naturedly, hands in his pockets.

"Ruining your chances for an undefeated season, Riley, that's where," he retorted, wiggling a sneakered foot cheekily in his direction.

"Oh, you're full of it, Al."

"Al?" Jaimie repeated as the boy turned back to her amidst jeers and catcalls.

"Aladdin," he told her, handing her more napkins, "but my friends call me Al."

"_Aladdin?"_ she repeated incredulously, her grip tightening around the napkins in her hand.

The boy laughed over his shoulder as he began wiping up the mess.

"Yeah, my parents must have been pretty sadistic, you know? Naming their kid something as ridiculous as 'Aladdin' and then putting him up for adoption – I mean, come on, right?"

Jaimie stared silently at his back for a long while, stunned. Then,

"…Is this some kind of joke?"

She stood there quietly, frowning, waiting for the moment when he'd realize the jig was up and admit it was all a joke – that they knew she'd fall for it.

He and Riley would have a good laugh about it later.

Nobody _really _knew Jaimie at this school, but everyone – _everyone_ – knew that she loved Disney.

Her parents were gone often on business trips and had been since she was a little girl. Someone else always had to take care of her when they were gone: neighbors, relatives, babysitters – coming and going, never staying for long. It always changed...except Disney.

Disney had always stayed the same.

Jaimie knew people didn't understand…and it broke her heart that _that, _of all things, was usually the object of their ridicule.

"You okay?" Aladdin asked suddenly, looking at her with serious, brown eyes.

Jaimie jumped as if she were afraid he would hear the things she had been thinking. He looked concerned, and she found herself feeling ashamed for thinking he would have a cheap laugh at her expense.

Realizing she had just been standing there (while someone else was cleaning up _her _mess, no less), Jaimie mumbled a quick 'yes' and furiously started to scrub the floors, much to Al's amusement.

When they were finished, he took the dirty napkins and threw them away before asking her if she wanted to sit with them. When he said 'them', he brandished an arm at a table at the far side of the cafeteria, full of people. ("We're a weird bunch, but we're nice enough.")

Jaimie was unsure at first, considering, but eventually she decided that even if it was a joke – even if he was pulling one over on her – he had been truly nice to her, and she appreciated it.

Besides, it wasn't as if she weren't used to it by now.

So she walked with him to the table, new tray in hand.

But, as they neared the others, Jaimie nearly dropped her tray for a second time that day.

_This has to be a joke._

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><p>Jaimie slid into the only open seat available and tried not to stare at everyone. It was shocking – how very familiar they all were, how very <em>real.<em>

They were perfect, all of them, as if they had come right out of the book she carried with her – a comfort item of sorts – her first Disney book.

Jaimie glanced at the boy sitting across from her.

He was the only other one there who didn't seem entirely comfortable with the situation.

His blue eyes were fixed on the tabletop, working furiously from side to side as his food sat beside him, untouched. The others chattered light-heartedly around him, but he didn't take any notice until, suddenly, he looked up at her.

Jaimie swallowed her bite of apple awkwardly and looked away, opting to stare at the others after all. She was uncomfortably aware of those blue eyes, narrowed in her direction from between two curtains of long, black curls.

Al sat next to her, a scholarship student, as the other boy had mentioned earlier. She could see it in his uniform now, which was shabby and obviously a hand-me-down on loan from the school.

Across from him sat a boy with a short buzz – so short Jaimie wasn't sure what color it was. He wore a purple sock hat and sat rigidly straight, his expression a picture of discipline and focus, made even more so by his strong, firm chin.

Then there was a boy with dark, brown hair which framed his face and ended in a braid at the base of his neck. His ears were pierced, and his uniform, Jaimie noticed, broke several of school's strict dress code rules.

Across from him was a sweet girl with a sprinkle of freckles across her nose and bright, red hair, pulled back neatly into two yellow ribbons. She beamed at Jaimie in welcome, and had she checked under the table, she would have seen a pair of well-worn – and well-loved – cowboy boots.

The girl next to her seemed far less interested in the newcomer, however. Hair pulled back in a messy bun by a black ribbon, she picked moodily at her food. Her mouth was petulant, and she glared down the table at the boy next to her, blue fire in her eyes.

If the boy was aware of said look, he didn't show it, though Jaimie guessed that he was, judging by the cheeky smile he wore. Some gold teeth glinted in the corner of his mouth, matching the string of interesting little baubles that were dangling by a string in his hair.

A redhead sat across the table from him, whose ears were slightly pointed. He wrinkled his nose in distaste – whether at the disappointing school lunch or the mundane conversation, Jaimie wasn't sure – and struggled to loosen the tie done up at his neck as if it were suffocating him.

A girl with curly brown hair leaned over to help him with a smile that reached her lovely blue eyes, brought out by the matching bow placed just-so at the back of her head. The boy resisted at first, but gave in reluctantly to her soothing words.

Then there was a boy with big, round glasses, perched at the end of a long, thin nose. He had brown hair, matched with a pair of soft, brown eyes. He looked up from his papers (which seemed to be written in another language) briefly when Jaimie said her name, and he smiled politely as her gaze met his.

Across from him was a black girl with big, dark eyes. At the moment, they were fixed angrily on the two boys next to her, who were laughing uncontrollably. Her mouth was pressed in a thin line of disapproval, her expression as severe as the tight bun atop her head.

One of the two boys was Latino, and he returned the girl's gaze with a cocky smile. His uniform was in sharp contrast to hers – brand new and sloppily done, while hers was clearly old, yet done up with care. Two blue plate earrings dangled amongst his perfectly straight, black hair.

The other boy, at least, had the grace to look ashamed. He was Native American, with a prominent nose and dark eyes that glinted with good-natured humor. Jaimie only just caught sight of a little carved bear that hung around his neck as he turned to wave to someone.

Across from him was an incredibly pale boy with dark rings under his even darker eyes. He was bald and sickly-looking, yet he had a joyful disposition as his crooked teeth pressed together in a haunting grin.

Beside him sat a girl with large brown eyes and matching brown hair done up in a blue ribbon. After a quick hello, she brushed a loose strand out of her face and buried her nose further into the book in front of her, smiling at something the others couldn't see.

A wild-looking girl with choppy bleach blonde hair sat next to her, attempting to steal a glance at the story with some interest. She absent-mindedly toyed with a little blue crystal dangling by a string against the dark skin of her neck, which she craned to get a better view.

On the other side of the table was a Romani girl with brilliant green eyes and thick black hair wrapped up in a pink scarf. Her uniform was old and clearly used, but the gold bangles on her arms jangled as she waved at Jaimie.

She went back to talking animatedly with the girl next to her. She had long, black hair and blue eyes that drifted every now and then as if her mind were somewhere else entirely. Her hand fell to the sea shell locket around her neck, which she clasped tightly in her hand.

Across from her was an incredibly short boy with a patch of red, messy hair and dark-rimmed eyes. He was missing a few teeth, but he had a big, crooked smile that seemed to light up his whole face when he smiled at Jaimie.

Beside him was another red-head – a girl. Her face was a bit plain, but framed by lovely red curls, pulled back by a comb. Her expression was a bit moody, but she was trying to put her best face forward for the newcomer, and that was all that really mattered, after all.

Next there was a girl with short, brown hair and blue eyes. She had a button nose, which was inches above the beat-up, old notepad she was scrawling on. She wore an old military jacket over her uniform, the sleeves of which were far too long for her. She kept rolling them up impatiently to keep them out of the way of her writing, but it seemed as if she seldom ever took it off.

An Asian boy sat across from her and offered suggestions to her every now and then, pointing out where she had missed something. His expression was militant and severe, though his hair was long and old-fashioned, tied up in a knot at the back of his head.

Next to him was a Hawaiian girl with soft, brown eyes and a round nose. Her hair was black and wavy and she was wearing brown hiking boots. Jaimie could just make out a waitress uniform hanging out the side of her backpack and thought she looked incredibly tired for a student.

Then there was an Arabian girl with very long, black hair pulled back with a blue headband. Golden earrings dangled from her ears and her uniform was obviously brand new, but she didn't look entirely happy. She doodled absent-mindedly on her notebook.

Across from her was a boy with haunting blue eyes and messy, brown hair. When he smiled, his canines were a bit exaggerated, giving him a wolfish look, and his lunch (or what was left of it) looked as if it had been destroyed rather than just eaten. His uniform, while brand new, was incredibly unkempt and had a few small rips here and there.

In contrast, the girl next to him was quiet and her smile gentle. She had large, brown eyes and short, dark hair that hung around her face in a little bob. It was pulled back from her beautiful pale face with a bright red ribbon.

Beside her was a girl with green eyes and long, red hair which she blew out of her face every now and then. She stared dreamily out the window, her expression distant and a smile on her face. She had barely even touched her food.

The last person at the table was a boy. Or at least, that's what Jaimie thought from what she could see. He sat hunched over the table, a hoodie under his uniform with the hood pulled over his head. Still, Jaimie could just make out a bit of red hair sticking out from under it.

Just as she craned her head to catch a better glimpse of the boy, Aladdin downed the rest of his pop and put a hand on her shoulder.

He got the others' attention, much to her embarrassment, and started to introduce her.

"Guys," he started, pulling Jaimie up despite her weak resistance, "this is…"

He trailed off all at once, brown eyes looking at her expectantly. She realized she hadn't told him her name.

"Jaimie," she said quickly, turning a little red as all eyes turned to her, "Jaimie Freeman."

The boy across from them listened intently, a frown on his face. He watched Jaimie as if he were struggling to remember something – as if she were as familiar to him as they were to her.

It was there in the back of his mind if he could only just remember it…

Aladdin started to introduce Jaimie to the person next to him, but she wasn't looking at him. Her eyes locked on the blue-eyed boy's as they scanned her own, and they stared at one another intently for a moment – as if they were in on a little secret.

What that secret was, though, neither of them were sure, and it would be quite some time before they realized just how dangerous a secret it was.

"Jaimie, this is—"

"I know," she interrupted quietly.

Aladdin turned back to her, taken aback.

"I'm sorry?"

"I know," she repeated. "I know who you are…All of you."

Chatter broke out at the table instantly and there were demands made to identify one another, but cries of 'me first!' and 'oh yeah?' were lost on Jaimie as a spark of recognition flashed across the blue-eyed boy's expression.

Having watched the entire scene from behind the lockers, Dr. Facilier laughed openly.

Ursula would be horrified.

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><p><strong>CONTEST:<strong>

**I am insanely curious to know who can guess that characters by their descriptions. Some are far more obvious than others, but I like to know who my readers are. I would love it if you would PM me your guesses. **

**Also! Suggestions! I love suggestions and audience/reader participation. Does anyone have any lovely pairings or characters they would like me to include? Like I said, anything goes. There is no such thing as a stupid pairing. Hahaha, trust me.**


	3. Forget Me Not

**Nostalgia's My Best Friend – **Thank you for reviewing! I'm glad you like it! I'll definitely try to update more regularly.

**ARTtastic – **Haha, I had a friend of mine try and guess and she got some of them right away and others she was completely stumped on, so I hope some of them are a surprise!

**Lit Lady – **You're very welcome; thank you for your lovely review. I hope their reactions were worth the wait!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the Disney characters.

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><p>"<em>She was a lovely lady, with a romantic mind and such a sweet mocking mouth.<em>

_Her romantic mind was like the tiny boxes, one within the other,_

_that come from the puzzling East,_

_however many you discover there is always one more; _

_and her sweet mocking mouth _

_had one kiss on it that Wendy could never get, though there it was, _

_perfectly conspicuous in the right-hand corner."_

- J.M. Barrie

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><p>"I know," she repeated. "I know who you are…All of you."<p>

Chatter broke out at the table instantly. Demands were made to identify one another, but cries of 'me first!' and 'oh yeah?' were lost on Jaimie as a spark of recognition flashed across the blue-eyed boy's expression.

Steepling his slender fingers on the cafeteria table, he never once broke his gaze with Jaimie.

"…So go ahead," he chided her quietly, "Who are we?"

His eyes twinkled – almost coldly – and the others fell silent, turning their heads to see how Jaimie would react to this challenge.

He almost thought she was going to back down when she looked away, faltering a little when she noticed that the boy at the far end – the one with the hood pulled over his face – had run off, but then she pointed and started listing them off, one by one, quietly but assuredly.

"You're Ariel," she said, starting with the girl with green eyes and flowing, red hair, "and you're Snow White."

Snow White's mouth formed a perfect 'o' of surprise, delighted by the newcomer's trick.

Jaimie appraised the boy next to her thoughtfully.

"You're…B – " she stopped shortly and backtracked a little, "Adam? Yes, Adam."

The boy eyed her suspiciously, but went back to eating as if disinterested. He was Beast, she knew, but didn't think anyone would take kindly to being addressed so. His eyes had given him away – those haunted blue eyes – and his canine teeth.

"You're Jasmine," Jaimie continued with the girl across from him, "and you're Nani, Shang, and you're…Jane."

She refrained from adding "from Peter Pan" as there was, of course, also Jane from "Tarzan", but she doubted anybody would be too worried about such a nuance.

None of them seemed to know they were Disney characters, after all.

"You're Anastasia," Jaimie continued, biting back the 'Cinderella's evil step-sister' that was attached to it.

"Ana," the girl corrected crossly, going back to her meal self-consciously as Jaimie moved on.

Jaimie paused this time, actually rather stumped by the short boy with the patchy red hair. He grinned with what little teeth he had left.

"Kay?" she guessed cautiously.

"Naw, darlin'. Allow me to introduce myself—"

But that Cajun accent was all Jaimie needed.

"Ray?" she amended, clapping her hands together triumphantly when the firefly-turned-student nodded enthusiastically.

"And you're Melody," Jaimie continued, sure of herself once more, "and you're Esmeralda. You're Kidaka—…Kidaga— "

"Kidagakash," the boy with the big round glasses finished for her.

"Kida," the light-haired girl corrected with a smile.

"Kida," Jaimie repeated before moving along, "and you're Belle. You're Jack—"

"I thought I was Jack," chimed in one of the other boys.

His manner was hilariously joking yet serious all at once, giving him a rather bewildered sound. He shook his head in disbelief, causing his baubles to clack and clatter together.

"Jack Sparrow," Jaimie agreed, "but he's Jack Skellington."

"Ah."

"And you…you're Kenai. You're Kuzco—"

"The one and only," the boy affirmed with a pleased smile, tossing his black hair behind him. The girl next to him rolled her eyes and faked a gag.

"And you're Tiana," Jaimie said, looking in her direction. Tiana quickly wiped her face clean of the mockery and nodded.

"Yes, ma'am," she acknowledged politely.

"And you're Milo…"

Now, Jaimie took a moment to glance back at the boy with the blue eyes – the one who issued the challenge – curious of his reaction.

He kept his face perfectly blank – a feat Jaimie had never been able to manage herself, and when she looked away, further occupied with naming them, the boy's eyes fell to the book in front of her – the Disney book.

He could see them on the cover – every one of them she named.

Carefully, he slid the book across the table and tucked it into his bag.

"—Wendy, and you're Peter, Peter Pan."

The others laughed at this.

"Like _the _Peter Pan?" one of them asked, scoffing.

Jaimie hesitated a little at their mockery. She knew they weren't taking her seriously, but this was real for her – oh so real.

Obviously something was going on here. _Would she have to face it alone? _

"…Go on," the boy with the blue eyes prodded quietly with a little nod of his head, long black curls bobbing.

She found comfort in the fact that he, at least, was taking her seriously.

"You're Jack _Sparrow_," Jaimie began again, and then, quickly corrected out of habit, "Sorry, _Captain. _Captain Jack Sparrow."

"Captain?" Jack smiled at her oddly. He had never been addressed as such, but there was something so…right about it.

A look crossed his face then – the look people get on their faces when they first wake up from a dream…

"Ha! Since when has Jack been captain of anything?" Kuzco laughed, winking across the table at him. Jack quickly agreed, but something had changed in his eyes.

Jaimie thought it best to move along.

"And you're Tinkerbell, right?"

Jaimie had been debating Cinderella, but something told her Cinderella's face could never look quite as ferocious as this girl's when the others began snorting into their food.

Her eyes flashed, and Jaimie could have sworn her entire face began glowing a brilliant shade of red.

"Tink," she snapped, kicking Jack under the table when he wouldn't stop laughing. She swiped a magazine out of her bag – an issue of _Elle_ – and began determinedly ignoring them.

"Tink," a startled Jaimie amended quickly, "and you're Jessie and Buzz – Buzz Lightyear."

"How'd you know?" Jessie asked curiously as Buzz looked on with a solemn expression – just like the space ranger he was.

Before Jaimie could give an answer (not that she really had one), Tink snapped her magazine onto the table with a huff.

"Oh, please! It's not hard – we go to the same school! Of _course _she knows our names. I mean, you've been here since you could play soccer, Al. If nothing else, she looked at the roster or something, obviously."

Jaimie started to inform her that she didn't even know all of the people in her own grade. Then she realized how it would sound and quickly reverted back to a cautious silence.

"Relax, Tink, it's all in good fun," Aladdin intervened, sharing a conspiratorial smile with Jack, "Let her finish."

"She's just upset you used her full name," Jack agreed, winking at Jaimie, "Carry on, love."

Tinkerbell stood up angrily, shouldering her bag.

"You silly ass!" she hissed, smacking Jack over the head with her magazine as she marched by.

Laughing, he watched her go with a fond smile, gold tooth glinting, though Tinkerbell sounded like she was anything but joking.

"One more left."

Everyone fell silent when the blue-eyed boy spoke once again, his eyes fixed on Jaimie, his expression serious.

She stared back, completely at a loss.

She didn't know who he was.

"…Well?" he whispered.

'_Who is he?'_

"Who am I?"

* * *

><p>Suddenly, the bell rang for class, interrupting the little posse of fictional characters. Activity erupted around them as people gathered their things, forgetting the name game almost completely.<p>

It ended as quickly as it had been brought on, ending the afternoon on an unsettling note for Jaimie – fleeting and surreal.

Tossing her uneaten lunch forlornly, Jaimie rushed to her next class – Chemistry – and headed towards her usual spot by the beakers.

It was a perfect seat, close enough to the board, but hidden from the teacher's line of sight by the little glass tubes.

She stopped short when she saw him sitting there – the boy.

His blue eyes spotted her even before she did. Casually, he leaned his chair back to the girl behind him.

"Was I in this class yesterday?" he asked her plainly, causing her to blink at him.

"Um…yeah," she said slowly, "You explained the empirical formula to me."

"Of course," he agreed politely before turning his back to her, leaving her looking bewildered.

Jaimie slipped into the seat next to him cautiously, placing her bag beside her before pulling out her chemistry book.

"I'm sorry. Was it Jaimie?" the boy asked. Jaimie looked up and found those blue eyes again.

"Yeah – yes. Jaimie," she answered, stumbling over her words a bit, "And you are…?"

She faltered a bit when his smile seemed to tighten ever so slightly at the question.

He felt the burning presence of the Disney book inside of his bag like an ugly reminder.

He had slipped into a corner of the hallway before class to look at it. It hadn't taken long for him to find himself – to realize who he was.

"You mean you don't know?" he asked politely – dangerously so, "I thought you knew who all of us were?"

'_He was never more dangerous than when he was polite.'_

The words seemed to laugh at him as they swam through his head, straight out of the book.

Before Jaimie could answer, he changed the subject, smiling reassuringly at her.

She seemed unnerved by his manner, and he didn't like the way she was looking at him, as if she were very nearly about to arrive at his name – at his inner nature.

She wasn't disillusioned for a second, not this one.

"Jaimie, was I in this class yesterday?" he asked instead.

Such a simple question, yet such a difficult one, apparently.

He could see the inner struggle on her face – the struggle between lying and looking completely delusional.

That alone was enough of an answer, but he pressed her anyways.

It was in his nature to be contrary.

"I— "

"Don't lie," he whispered quietly; only she could hear, "Tell the truth."

"…No."

"No?" he repeated gleefully – wickedly.

"I've never seen you before – here or anywhere else," she affirmed hesitantly, put off by his obvious enjoyment.

He looked as if he were about to say something, but the girl behind him cut in, tapping her pencil on her desk rapidly.

"Oh, yes you have, Jaimie. He helped us with the empirical formula, remember? Honestly…"

"But—"

The girl made a disgusted sound and turned back to the boy, sharing what she thought was a conspiratorial look with him.

"Of course. Jaimie doesn't need help. She already knows everything."

"I didn't say that," Jaimie argued quickly, face flushing, but just then the teacher came in, killing all the conversation in the room.

"Face the front, please," he began, setting his brief case down on the desk.

Jaimie turned and buried her nose in her book forcefully.

The boy was pleasantly surprised to see a look of pure, acidic anger on her face – brilliant red and flaming.

He had pegged her for a mousy little thing, timid and yielding, but she had continually surprised since then, rising brilliantly to his challenge at the lunch table, and now, if her expression was any indication, she was silently wishing any number of unimaginable tortures on the girl sitting behind him.

Yes, she was a key player in all of this – whatever this was.

He could tell.

* * *

><p>It wasn't much longer before the teacher had them finding partners for the day's activity.<p>

Before the girl behind him could even make an attempt at mooching off of him, the boy leant over to Jaimie and asked her if she cared to join him, as if he were asking her to join his confidence rather than just working on a silly in-class worksheet.

Nodding, Jaimie followed him to one of the desks on the far side of the room where they wouldn't be disturbed should the conversation move to the far more pressing – and yet completely unfathomable – matter of why he and the rest of his classmates were so clearly misplaced.

Surprisingly enough, they worked easily together, talking about nothing but chemistry all the while.

They were still trying to get a feel for one another, after all. It was much too early to take in confidences, particularly since neither of them were sure as of yet to the extent of the gravity of the situation.

The girl kept looking at him every now and then when she thought he wasn't looking. Her large brown eyes would sweep his face almost reverently.

He supposed this must all be rather exciting to her – having her favorite characters here – and that's when it hit him:

Was _she _the one who brought them here?

Scrutinizing her shrewdly, he dismissed the idea to a dusty corner of his own brilliant mind. This girl – this incredibly clumsy, nose-in-a-book girl – couldn't possibly have the initiative to pull something this big off.

However, for some reason, the idea struck a nerve with him and felt just credible enough that he filed it away for later use.

"Oh," the boy recalled suddenly, diving for his bookbag.

Jaimie looked up from her work and regarded him silently, but her eyes – so wide and receptive – watched him curiously.

"Here," he offered, pulling out her book, "You left this in the cafeteria."

Her face was instantly one of panic – as if just the idea of losing the thing troubled her greatly. The feeling was fleeting though because the next moment she was smiling at him, and my, what a smile it was – senseless and unpresuming.

Of course, he really had gypped it from her. Of course, it was a lie, but no use wasting an opportunity to win her over, if she could be won over, that is.

She seemed like a private little thing – one that wouldn't expose herself to just anyone.

"_Like a kiss,"_ the boy thought, _"a kiss no one could ever get."_

His eyes fell to her mouth as if he might find one there.

Damn the book.

But Jaimie was already silently slipping her book back into her own bag, arranging it neatly as if she were tucking it in for bed.

"_Such a silly girl," _the boy thought.

Since he had met her, he had been stuck constantly between both admiring and dismissing her.

It was then that their teacher, having glanced at the clock decided to wrap the class up.

Calling for them to pass their work up, he reminded them to put their names on their papers.

Sighing (such a trying day, honestly), the boy whipped out his pen and wrote his name neatly across the top of the page.

A bookbag thudded to the floor somewhere behind him, and he turned to find Jaimie, staring over his shoulder at his name, her face a picture of shock.

When he looked at her, she froze, no longer at ease with him.

Flushing, he snatched her paper from her hand impatiently and handed it in with his own.

'_Idiot,' _he thought maliciously, eyes lighting up horribly with two little red dots, _'Quick to judge, was she?'_

"Y-you're—"

She didn't look as if she'd be able to finish, so he interrupted her abruptly, bringing his face to her own level.

"Say it," he demanded softly – dangerously, "Just say it."

Jaimie hesitated, aware of the anger rolling off of him in coils of rage, twisted like his hair. It hung around them like curtains, shielding them from the students passing by.

"Go ahead...give me a name. Label me. Put me into a category – a box. Yes, a box, and then you'll understand me. Well, actually, you already know everything about me – the look on your face says it clearly. So much easier, isn't it? When your mind is made up for you?"

Jaimie's face grew visibly more and more upset throughout the tirade until finally she interrupted him, clutching her bag tightly in front of her.

"That's not—!"

"Just…say it."

She saw the spots, those horribly red spots, clashing horribly with the perpetually calm sea of the forget-me-not blue of his eyes.

_Danger._

"You're Captain Hook," she said at last, then again, softly, "Captain Hook."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note (PLEASE READ):<strong>

Just a quick note on Captain Hook – he will be heavily influenced by the book "Capt. Hook" by J.V. Hart. If you haven't read it, wow, is it a fantastic book! Quite possibly the most well-loved, well-worn book I own.

Anyways, just in case you were confused, it is about Hook when he was younger as a student at Eton and how he came to begin his dastardly pirating ways (which we love him for, am I right?).

I wanted to let you all know just in case you wondered where I was getting some of my info from. Anyways, thank you very much for reading! I'll try to get another chapter up soon; only three weeks until summer for me!

Thanks, and please review!


	4. The Fool

**Daydreamer747 – **Yes! I'm so glad it was a surprise! I wasn't sure if I made it too obvious or not. I hadn't thought about Anastasia until I saw your review. I've been coming up with this story for such a long time now, I've already gotten used to making her a hero in my head. Thank you so much for the review!

**ARTtastic – **That's good! It's a fun surprise that way! I almost wish someone else were writing this so I could read what happens next. I'd fangirl for sure. Gah, I'm so happy you'll check out the book! I try to get everybody to read it. Also, you have reviewed every chapter I've posted, and I so appreciate that! It's _**awesome!**_

**Author's Note:** Ahaha, wow, did this chapter ever end up being freakishly long. Sorry about that if it is an uncomfortable amount of reading. Let me know how it went or if it was too long or just right.

Also, this will probably be the format for the rest of the chapters: a little bit of one or two character's side and then a little bit of Jaimie. We'll get around to all the side stories eventually, and they'll tie into the main one.

Definitely more Jaimie in the next one – we'll find out how she and James do when they see each other again. And now, enough of my ramblings – ENJOY!

* * *

><p><em>"I've never fooled anyone.<br>I've let people fool themselves.  
>They didn't bother to find out who and what I was.<br>Instead they would invent a character for me.  
>I wouldn't argue with them.<br>They were obviously loving_

_somebody I wasn't."_

-Marilyn Monroe

* * *

><p>"<em>Just…say it."<em>

"_You're Captain Hook," she said at last, then again, softly, "Captain Hook."_

* * *

><p>Jaimie walked home alone that night, just like she did every night.<p>

Her parents were away on a business trip again – a long one this time. They had told her they wouldn't be home until March, and only then if everything went smoothly.

"Around the time of spring break, Jaimie," her mother had promised at the airport, "We'll do something fun, then."

'_Something fun.'_

As if she were still a little girl who only needed a trip to a theme park or a cone from the ice cream truck to be happy.

Really, she just didn't want to be alone anymore.

But it wasn't unusual for the students at Riverdale to not see their parents often. Many of them were the sons and daughters of doctors, lawyers, stock-brokers, and even celebrities, showing up to school in sports cars or driven by their chauffeurs.

As for Jaimie's parents, they were lobbyists for a pharmaceutical company – a company they hoped Jaimie would work for someday.

There were so many things Jaimie would rather be…

Sighing, she stood in the doorway of her house, plopping her backpack into the entryway and slipping out of her shoes.

"And on top of all of that," she said to herself quietly, "…He hates me."

She was, of course, talking about James – Captain Hook – the boy with the blue eyes who she only just recognized as her chemistry class was letting out.

_How didn't I realize it sooner?_

Jaimie climbed the stairs to her room, flicking a button on the remote to turn on the television. She turned it on every night, but never watched it. She didn't like how quiet the house was without it – so very quiet and empty.

_If I only I had realized…_

She still had homework to do yet, too – literature – but Jaimie just couldn't get her mind off of everything.

_I wouldn't have reacted that way._

Going to her bookshelf, she ran a finger down the spines, lined up neatly in a row, until she stopped on a well-worn, well-loved, blue bound book with gold lettering.

It was a book she had read many times, underlining her favorite parts, memorizing others.

She opened it to the first page:

"_It was his eyes. The color of blue forget-me-nots, piercing, like two novas in a sky of dying stars. Profoundly melancholy, yes. Except when James was angry, at which time two red spots appeared in them and lit them up horribly."_

'_How well it describes him'_, she thought, settling onto her bed.

All else was forgotten as she curled up into her covers, the soft glow of her bedside lamp keeping the darkness away, and read the book she knew so very well into the wee hours of the morning.

* * *

><p>Jaimie woke to the sunlight streaming in through her window.<p>

Confused, she blinked her eyes and looked down at the book in her hands – the book she had fallen asleep reading that night.

Setting it down on her bedside table, it fell open to the passage she had read last:

"_If his father was connected to nobles and nobility, as James had been raised to believe was true, then all he had experienced of this nobility was neglect and an allowance."_

Jaimie stood and looked down at herself. She had fallen asleep in her uniform, and now it was wrinkled and creased beyond repair.

Then her eyes flickered to her alarm clock, and she gasped.

9:37 A.M.

Nearly tripping herself on the stairs, Jaimie raced through her house, stopping only to grab her backpack and put on her shoes on her way out the door.

Once she arrived at Riverdale, red in the face and breathing heavily, she tore through the hallways in a panic.

Jaimie had never been late to school before – not ever. Once when she was in elementary school, she had left her backpack in her father's car overnight. He carpooled the next morning with a co-worker, taking the keys with him, and she had nearly hyperventilated.

It was a line her parents forced her to walk – a terribly thin line. Perfect grades were a must in the Freeman household. _Never be late to school. Never do poorly on a test. Never miss an assignment._

_Always be perfect._

Now, already having missed literature class, Jaimie raced through the hallways towards the choir room, which was near the gym and the pool.

But just as she was turning the corner to the big double doors of the music classroom, an arm shot out, long and skinny, blocking her way in.

"Well, hello there, pretty lady…"

Jaimie stopped short abruptly, textbooks slipping out of her hand and onto the tile floor.

Stooping, she reached to pick one of them up before the person's foot came down, pinning it to the ground.

"Now, now…" a silky voice reached her ears, "Where ya'll headed to in such a hurry?"

Jaimie stood, facing the stranger cautiously.

He was a tall, black boy, lanky and thin with an incredibly messy shock of dark hair that stood up straight from his head in wavy tangles.

He grinned down at her, a gap between his front teeth, but the smile didn't reach his eyes, which were an enigmatic shade of purple – jewel-bright and malevolent.

Jaimie glanced down at her textbook – still beneath the stranger's foot – feeling a little flustered.

"Err…I'm late for class," she began hesitantly, looking over his shoulder at the hall clock, "So, if you'll excuse me…"

"Aw, come on, darlin'," the boy laughed, putting a friendly arm around her shoulders, "There's only a few more minutes of class left – no point in heading in there now, is there?"

"Well…I suppose not," Jaimie admitted reluctantly. The boy's arm slipped off of her as she stooped to pick up her books, tucking them neatly under her arm once again.

"Such a tricky thing, isn't it?" he said to her, following her gaze as it flickered back to the clock again, "Time?"

As he spoke, the hands of the clock began to spin backwards, out of control, first fast and then slow, like a thing possessed.

"H-how…how did you—?"

"Now, don't you worry yourself about that," the boy said dismissively, beckoning her to follow him, "But speaking of time…how would you like to have your fortune told?"

"My—"

"Aren't you curious?" he prodded, taking her hand and tugging her through the doors of the swimming pool, "Don't you want to see what your future holds?"

She followed him past the diving boards and behind the bleachers where he plopped down comfortably, cross-legged, shuffling his deck of brilliant purple and green cards.

Jaimie gasped as realization hit her.

"You're the—" she stopped abruptly, catching herself as she heard James's voice once again in her head.

"_Say it." _

The look on his face – it had been so angry and so…_hurt_.

But the boy in front of her just chuckled, tugging on her uniform until she sat across from him on the dirty, tile floor.

"Doctor Facilier," he offered, shaking her hand, "The Shadow Man. Yes, very good, Jaimie. You're quick."

He spread the cards out on the floor in between them, shooing a discarded candy wrapper out of the way as he did so as the sounds of the swim team's practice reached them through the spaces in the bleachers.

"Good, Ariel! Good!" Jaimie could hear the coach shouting over the sound of splashing, then, blowing the whistle, "Come on, Melody, pick it up! One more lap to go!"

Ignoring them, Facilier began to mumble something under his breath, running his hands over the cards. Jaimie inclined her head towards him, trying to hear what he was saying, but it didn't sound as if the words were in English.

He caught her listening in and smiled at her, pulling the deck back together with one swift movement.

He held them out to her and said, "Go on. Pick three."

Jaimie leant forward, regarding the cards with care. She reached for one slowly and then paused, indecisive.

Facilier winked at her, and she blushed, taking three from the middle.

"Here," she said quickly, handing them to him.

She watched, intrigued, as he flipped them over, perusing them mildly. He made a face at one of them, teasing her curiosity, before lying them face down on the floor one by one.

"Hmm…interesting," he said, turning the first one face-side up.

"What?" Jaimie asked breathlessly, excited in spite of herself, "What is it?"

It was a picture of a fair-haired youth, careless and unassuming. He carried a knapsack under a golden sun, picking his way cheerfully across a rocky path with only a dog as his companion.

Facilier waved his hand over the card, and suddenly it was Jaimie's own likeness there amongst the unbeaten trail.

"This, my dear," he said slyly, grinning his gap-toothed smile, "is the Fool."

Jaimie's mouth formed a perfect 'o' of astonishment before she caught herself, looking slightly offended. Tugging at her hair self-consciously, she frowned down at the upturned card with reproachful eyes.

_Is he making fun of me?_

"Now, hold on," Facilier assuaged her, patting her knee reassuringly at the sight of her chagrined face, "It isn't what you're thinking."

Running a long, thin finger through the dust on the floor, he drew a circle and a few lines of rays – a sun.

"The Fool is innocent," he explained expertly, "immune to the disapproval of others, and comfortable in his skin. He is light – he is the first step of a new journey. Influenced by no one, every path is open to him so long as he makes the move to take it."

Jaimie listened to him quietly, her large, brown eyes flickering between the card and its master as he spoke.

Facilier smirked. Naiveté – another characteristic of the Fool, and how naïve she was, indeed, sitting there under the bleachers with someone she knew to be a villain with trusting eyes and an open heart.

Flipping the next card over, he revealed a couple – a man and a woman – encompassed by the wings of an angel. The woman looked to the sky, straight into the eyes of the angel, while the man had eyes only for her.

"Ah," Facilier said softly as Jaimie slid the card closer to her for a better look, "The Lovers."

Jaimie looked positively floored, and – could it be? – bless her, the child was actually blushing. Biting back a laugh, Facilier stroked the card and it became animated, playing the scene out before them.

"The man cannot see the angel for himself," he narrated as they watched it, the little characters following the words like well-rehearsed parts, "But the woman, see, she is looking at it, and so he knows it is there. She teaches him things he might not otherwise know."

Jaimie picked up the card and watched it with interest.

"So which one am I?" she asked curiously, looking from the man to the woman.

"Hmm, an excellent question," Facilier remarked, watching her thoughtfully, "But, you know, duality is a strong theme of The Lovers card. It is a mutual relationship, though not, might I just add, necessarily romantic, but beneficial for both parties. No doubt you will both give and receive in your turn…"

He trailed off when he saw the look on her face as she looked at the little card. It was wistful almost…and a little sad.

"Oh my," he said quietly, tugging the card out of her hands gently, "You're already thinking of someone…aren't you?"

Jaimie flushed a brilliant shade of scarlet as her hands dropped listlessly to her side.

She opened her mouth to protest, but, at that very moment, the bell started to ring.

Leaping to her feet as if a snake had bitten her, Jaimie scrambled to get her books together, sliding a little on the dirty floor. Facilier just blinked at her, bemused, as she made a mad dash for her things, leaving her third card on the floor – untouched and forgotten.

Grabbing her by the hand, he halted her progress abruptly.

"Wait," he said, waving his other hand through the air and producing a card – a business card this time. The girl's look of surprise honestly never got old.

"My card," he explained, placing it in her palm and closing her fingers around it before standing up himself. He reached into his pocket and dug out a packet of cigarettes and a lighter.

"Don't be a stranger, ya'll," he said, popping a cigarette between his lips as he walked off, leaving Jaimie under the bleachers, looking down at the card he had just given her.

The sound of the swim coach's whistle snapped Jaimie out of her reverie and she turned tail and raced off, through the double doors and into the teeming hallway, Facilier's business card tucked safely into her pocket.

As for the Shadow Man, he had a card of his own to look at – Jaimie's final card – which he had slipped into his breast pocket. Watching her retreating back, he slipped out from behind the bleachers and climbed up the stairs, taking a seat in the third row.

It was the best place to skip class, the pool. Now that swim practice was over, no one else would be in for the rest of the day. The gym classes didn't start using it until it was snowing outside, and that was months away.

Flipping Jaimie's final card around, he regarded it thoughtfully. The High Priestess – the card that told him everything he needed to know about the girl.

One side black and the other side white, the High Priestess card showed a woman in robes, a cross emblazoned on her front.

She, too, represented duality – an ability to keep the balance between all things, but the strongest meaning of the card was what interested Facilier:

_Pure, unbridled potential_.

He had felt it in her, too. That had been the whole idea of reading her fortune, after all – to get a feel for her and her power.

It was there, just below the surface, but dormant. Facilier had slipped in a trick here and there – the spinning clock hands, the magic tarot cards, pulling his business card from thin air – in the hopes that it might induce a spark in her, stir the gumbo pot a little.

'_If I keep at it long enough…'_

Facilier glanced down at her cards again, grinning wickedly. Uninhibited trust, the chance of a partnership in her future, and the quite literal reading of an immense, raw power…

Yes, it seemed as if the odds were in his favor.

If he could wake Jaimie's power without making her aware of it, he could use it at his will, and then…

Perhaps, he'd finally settle his debt.

As if in reminder, his shadow slipped out beside him on the bleachers, smiling nastily at him – the companion he would never be rid of.

'_Not without a little help_.'

A splash interrupted his thoughts just then, and Facilier's gaze was drawn to the pool.

One of the swimmers must have hung back.

A girl surfaced near the deep end of the pool, black hair tangled and wet.

Casually, Facilier made his way down the steps of the bleachers, stopping at the edge of the pool. He might as well start getting to work if he was going to find enough souls to pay the nasties back.

After all, who knew how long it would take for Jaimie to come around?

He took a drag of his cigarette, exhaling slowly. The stress was beginning to get to him.

Every day the heathens sent him a different reminder – a different shadow to haunt him in the night…

"Hey!" a voice said suddenly, causing him to pause.

Facilier looked up as the girl swam over to him and stopped at the side of the pool, propping herself up on the edge with her skinny elbows.

"You can't smoke in here," she stated, frowning. Her stormy, ocean blue eyes watched him carefully as she pushed a dripping strand of hair out of her way.

Regarding her quietly, Facilier remembered, vaguely, a conversation he had overheard the day before between two swimmers. Finished with practice, the two had swapped their usual gossip for the day, towels draped over their shoulders.

Something snippy about 'that freshman' who would 'never be as good as Ariel' no matter how much she practiced because, well, 'no one's as good as Ariel', apparently.

All the girl did was practice.

'_She has no life,' _he believed was the actual comment.

"My apologizes," Facilier said smoothly. He looked down at her with his malevolent purple eyes, slightly irritated at having his first smoke of the day interrupted.

With a blank face, he flicked the cigarette into the pool and reveled at the little hiss it made as it hit the water, effectively snuffing out its short-lived existence.

Facilier watched, amused, as the girl rushed forward with a splash, scooping the little stub up out of the water.

Turning angrily, her wet hair whipped around and stuck to the front of her face. She wiped it away impatiently and then threw the cigarette at the boy, earning an obnoxious laugh from him.

"What is your problem?" she snapped, blue eyes ablaze.

Calmly, Facilier shook the discarded stub off of his uniform, leaving a wet spot on the fabric.

"Shouldn't you be in class, little girl?" he asked derisively, stooping down on scrawny legs so he was closer to her level.

"Shouldn't _you_?" she mocked back.

When he started laughing at her, she turned a bright shade of red, embarrassed at being caught acting so childish.

"For your information," she continued haughtily, straining to be heard over the sound of his laughter, "I have permission from my study hall supervisor to be here."

Shuffling his saddle shoes on the tile floor, he humored her with an 'Of course'.

"And what," he continued suavely, "may I ask is your name, sweetheart?"

The girl glared at him with steely eyes. How easily terms of endearment fell from his sugar-coated mouth! She didn't trust him one bit.

"Melody," she snapped peevishly, before diving back under the water, "And don't call me sweetheart."

She gasped when she resurfaced near the diving board, and there he was – dangling a shoe over the edge lazily.

"So what's the point of all of this, Melody, dear?"

"How did you do that?" she demanded, astonished.

Ignoring her, he trailed a hand in the water, saying, "Why do you practice so hard day in and day out when you know, don't you, that you'll never be as good as that senior?"

Melody's face softened, a longing expression on her face as a melancholy quiet fell over her, sad and a little unsure.

That senior – Ariel – who moved through the water as if she had been doing it all of her life. It was beautiful – so, so beautiful – and Melody couldn't help but wish for it with all her heart.

'_Like a mermaid,' _she had always thought, watching the red-headed swim captain dive in and out of the water.

But she would never share those childhood fantasies with the other girls on the team.

"That's none of your business," Melody said finally into the silence of the pool, clasping her hand around her locket unconsciously.

"True," Facilier agreed cheekily, stretching out on his stomach and propping his chin in his hand, "but what if I told you…I could help you?"

Melody stopped short. She had expected more mocking, maybe, but certainly not this.

_What is he playing at?_

"Help me?" she repeated, watching him carefully, "What could _you _do?"

"Oh, Melody," Facilier said, winking, "The question you should be asking yourself is, what _couldn't _I do for you?"

He pulled out another cigarette and lit it nonchalantly, and this time the girl didn't try to stop him.

"I could make you everything you ever wanted to be, darling…" he continued, pausing to take a drag.

_A mermaid?_

"…the swimmer you always wanted to be."

"Like Ariel?" she asked, though she instantly felt a little disappointed in herself for doing so.

"Better," Facilier assured her airily, as if transforming girls into swimming stars was small potatoes compared to the other things he'd done.

"How?"

Pausing, cigarette in hand, Facilier grinned. His shadow flew out, joining Melody across the surface of the water.

"Voodoo," he said simply.

Melody backed away from the shadow, staring at it mistrustfully as it grinned a wicked smile at her.

She wasn't sure why…but this was oddly familiar to her…and she had a terribly bad feeling about it.

"…That's cheating," she said finally, looking offended by the very idea of it.

"Why?" Facilier challenged, beckoning his shadow back to him with a crooked finger, "You want it, don't you?"

"Of course I do!" she said quickly, frowning, "But—"

"But…?" the boy repeated impatiently, motioning for her to elaborate.

"It won't mean anything," Melody insisted, unable to take her eyes from the creepy, little black shadow cackling at his side, "It won't really be…_me_."

"Oh? And who exactly are you, _Melody_?"

When she didn't respond, he gave an exasperated sigh and turned sideways, putting out his cigarette on the damp tiles.

"There are so many people with the potential to be great – who have the power to make it," he murmured quietly, "but how can they if they never get their chance – if they're denied it?"

"That's not what I—"

"Are you saying you don't have the potential?"

"No, of course not!"

"Then what _are _you saying, Melody, dear, because I'm a voodoo doctor, not a mind reader."

Melody just sat there, stunned, floating in the water, trying to figure out how the boy had managed to completely turn their conversation around.

_Of course I have the potential…Don't I?_

Suddenly, the boy's face darkened, and his eyes narrowed at something just behind her shoulder. His shadow mimicked a shriek as he reached down, quick as a rattlesnake, and yanked her out of the water by her arms.

"Hey! What are you—?"

They wobbled on the diving board dangerously, but Facilier grabbed onto the top bar of the ladder, which slipped in his now-wet grasp.

The two of them fell onto the tile floor in a heap, Melody on top of his lanky frame. Pushing herself up on an elbow, ignoring a stabbing pain in her head from where it had hit the ground, she looked back toward the pool just in time to see a pair of scaly backs disappear into the water.

She made to get up, but Facilier put a hand on her shoulder, pushing her back down before approaching the edge of the pool himself.

He made a sweeping bow as the ugly creatures resurfaced, showing their toothy grins and mismatched eyes.

_Moray eels._

"Flotsam, Jetsam," the boy acknowledged, nodding to each in turn, "Always a…pleasure."

He said the last part hesitantly, causing the fish twins to snicker and slither closer to his feet.

"Ursula isn't very pleased with you," one of them – Flotsam – hissed, rearing his head back and looking at Melody, who was watching the scene with a stunned expression.

"So…so Jaimie was right?" she asked weakly, bewildered. She never would have known that the people in front of her were Disney characters – but, really, what else could they be?

Voodoo magic, talking eels…

_This can't be real._

_And – wait a second – did that make __**her**__ a Disney character?_ _And __**Ariel**__, too?_

"The last I checked," Facilier countered the eels smoothly, sparing Melody a brief glance as he did so, "no one was supposed to get hurt but _the witch, _so why are ya'll picking on little Melody, here, hmm?"

"I was only going to give her a little nibble," Jetsam responded sulkily, giving his tail a dismissive wave.

"No harm in dragging her to the bottom of the pool," Flotsam agreed consolingly.

"Ah, but Flotsam, that kills people."

"Oh…does it?"

"Regardless," Facilier interrupted them at the sight of Melody's stricken face – now pale as a sheet, "Is there a reason the two of you decided to grace us with your presence?"

"Ursula wishes to speak with you," Jetsam answered curtly.

"The cafeteria," Flotsam joined him, jerking his scaly head in the direction of the food court.

"Seven 'o' clock."

"Don't be late," they hissed together, retreating back into the water. Flotsam wriggled into the depths of the pool, disappearing from sight, but Jetsam paused, turning his crooked smile back on Melody.

"Give our regards to Ariel," he cackled with a wave of his tail. Then, he disappeared, and the two of them were gone as quickly as they had come.

Facilier watched the pool as the last ripple faded away, bringing the water back to its usual calm. Then, turning, he took Melody's hand and helped her to her feet.

"H-how do they know Ariel?" she asked, standing unsteadily on the slippery wet floor.

Facilier didn't even have the heart to tell her that they were from her own story – much less that Ariel was, in fact, her mother.

How odd that out of all the people in the school, Ariel had been the one Melody was drawn back to in the end.

Dodging the question as best he could, Facilier put a hand on either of her shoulders, steadying her.

"Are you okay?" he asked cautiously, studying her face. She was – and please excuse the fish pun – rather green around the gills.

Melody said nothing at first. She tottered a little, and then, leaning back slightly, she pitched forward and threw up all over his shoes.

'…'

Facilier looked down slowly, hands still on Melody's shoulders.

After a full morning of teasing, mocking, and conjuring up tricks at the expense of two high school girls, it was finally Facilier's turn to look surprised – unpleasantly so.

And was it just the chlorine filter making those bubbles in the corner of the pool, or was that Flotsam and Jetsam coming back to have a good laugh at him?

Facilier's head shot back up when he felt Melody's shoulders begin to shake under his palms.

"Heh."

The girl quickly pressed her hands to her mouth when he looked up.

"Heheheh."

_Was she __**laughing**__?_

"Heheheheheh, oh," she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stifle her giggles, "I—heheheh – I'm sorry. It's just…eheheheheh."

How awful. She really shouldn't be laughing. She had just thrown up on his shoes, after all, and after he had saved her from those eels, too.

Facilier spared her a look of irritation before glancing back down at his shoes warily.

"Thank you," Melody said, glancing up at him with her sea blue eyes.

Ignoring her, Facilier's hands fell from her shoulders as he stepped back and started towards the changing rooms. He needed napkins – badly.

But before he left, he hesitated, looking back to the girl.

"Here," he said suddenly, bringing another of his cards out with a quick flick of his wrist.

Melody took the card and eyed it, running a finger over the luminescent purple writing.

"Just in case," Facilier explained, "you change your mind about voodoo."

Clutching the card in her hand, soaking the little square through, she followed him in the direction of the changing rooms, swiping a towel from the bin as she went.

Facilier stopped just inside by the trash can, pulling a generous amount of paper towels from the dispenser. Making a face that Melody was sure she was meant to see, he began to clean his shoes off with great distaste.

"You'll need to go to the nurse's office," he said peevishly, discarding the soiled paper, "No doubt you have a concussion."

Melody just gave a little 'hmph' and wrapped her towel around her waist, suddenly feeling self-conscious about being in a swimsuit in front of him. She walked past the voodoo doctor, trying to avoid eye contact with the boy whose shoes she had thrown up on, but he gripped her arm suddenly.

"Oh, and Melody?" he said, looking her in the eye.

"What?"

"Don't swim in the pool alone anymore."

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer:<strong>

I do not own any of the Disney characters, including Captain Hook, Facilier, Melody, Flotsam, Jetsam, and Ursula.

**Please review! They make me all kinds of happy! I love input!**


	5. Company: Part 1

**Author's Note****: To all my readers, I apologize for taking so ridiculously long to update. College takes up so much time. Thank you for sticking with this story!**

**Daydreamer747 – **Thank you! I am glad you found it funny. It's usually hard for me to come up with things that are. I appreciate it.

**ARTtastic – **I love Dr. Facilier, too! I just had to include him in this story. Sorry it took me so long to update, but there will be plenty of him in the future.

**KHmysterygirl – **I want to thank you for reviewing so long after I had last updated. That is so awesome!

* * *

><p>"<em>To say the truth, reason and love keep little company together nowadays."<em>

William Shakespeare

* * *

><p>After the encounter with Facilier, classes passed by in a blur for Jaimie up until lunch.<p>

Fueled by the adrenaline and horror of not only skipping two classes that morning, but also finding yet another villain amongst their ranks, Jaimie barely noticed the Disney characters that had joined her in her other classes.

In fact, the only events that stood out in her mind were finding James in her Psychology class and seeing the boy with the hood pulled over his head – the one Jaimie still had not figured out – in another, sitting directly behind her.

Now, at lunch, she was relieved to see that there was an open seat beside someone other than James.

The way chemistry had ended the day before, Jaimie didn't know if she could face his eyes – those burning, blue eyes – narrowed at her with all the condescension and disdain in the world.

Instead, she slid in next to Tinkerbell, doing her best to appear cheerful.

"Hello, Tinker – " Jaimie tried, but faltered at the ferocious look on Tinkerbell's face, weakly correcting herself, "…Tink."

"_Hmph_."

Jaimie turned her attention to eating her lunch as quietly as possible while Tinkerbell, in another one of her black moods, buried her nose into her magazine, determinedly ignoring the rest of them.

Jaimie was starting to feel as if there were a rain cloud hanging above her head. Things hadn't been going well for her for the longest time, even before these characters had shown up.

It must have been starting to show on her face, too, because just as Jaimie was raising a forkful of mashed potatoes to her mouth, Kuzco nudged her with his elbow, knocking all of it back onto her plate.

"Don't mind Tinkerbell, Jaimie," the boy whispered consolingly, nodding to the table in front of them, "Jack's got her all worked up again, that's all."

Jaimie followed his gaze to where the pirate captain was sitting, talking animatedly with a group of girls who Jaimie vaguely recognized as cheerleaders.

Come to think of it, Tinkerbell's poisonous gaze _did_ seem to be fixed on Jack half of the time…

It dawned on Jaimie just then. "Are Jack and Tink…?"

"Yeah," Kuzco laughed, shaking his head, "You know what they're like, though, right, Jaimie? Jack doesn't like to be pinned down, and Tink…well, Tink just…"

"…she's a fairy," Jaimie finished for him, "and their bodies are so small, they can only feel one emotion at a time…"

"Wait, what?" Kuzco asked, blinking.

"_Excuse me?" _Tink interjected also, whirling on Jaimie with a face glowing red.

"…like anger," Jaimie finished meekly, sliding a little bit further away from the red-faced girl. Meanwhile, Kuzco had collapsed into a fit of laughter, and Jaimie was struck by the disheartening reminder that not a single one of them believed her.

"Don't worry, Jaimie," Kuzco snorted when he saw her face, slapping her on the back, "Her bark is worse than her bite."

But Jaimie, who could recall a certain scene from _Peter Pan_ where Tink convinced the Lost Boys to shoot Wendy to her death, knew very well that what Kuzco was saying was far, far from the truth.

Thankfully, an interruption presented itself in the form of Tiana, who, with arms folded, stormed over and tapped her foot impatiently on the tile floor in front of the young emperor.

"_Kuzco_," she started angrily, retrieving his backpack from the floor and pushing it none-to-gently into his arms, "you were supposed to meet me in the library _half an hour _ago!"

Fumbling with his backpack with one arm, Kuzco put out the other to stop his tray from being knocked off of the table.

"Oh, come on, _Tiana_," he whined, giving her a pleading look, "I can't just skip _lunch._ I mean, what's the big deal, anyways? It's just a school project…"

"Justa school project?" Tiana repeated, eyes flashing, "_Just_ a school project? It counts for 25% of our grade! If I don't get an A in this class because of you, Kuzco, I swear, I'm going to–"

"Ugh, not this again," Kuzco groaned, "Spare me the lecture. I didn't mean it, really. Look, I'm getting up."

"You better believe you are! If you think I am going to do any more of this project for you, you have got another thing coming! It is a _team _project_!_"

"There's no 'Kuzco' in team," Kuzco said, grinning, but Tiana gave him such a dark look that he didn't even protest when she dragged him through the cafeteria, much to the amusement of the other students.

Jack laughed with the other girls as the two passed their table, but Jaimie could have sworn she saw his eyes sweep the magazine in front of Tink's face, hopeful that she might come out and laugh with them.

* * *

><p>After lunch, chemistry went much the same way the rest of the day had gone.<p>

Before class even started, Jaimie's literature teacher stopped by to inquire after her homework assignment – the one that had been due that morning.

It had never crossed her mind that Jaimie wouldn't have it, and Jaimie had been forced to tell her, in front of half of her classmates, that she simply had not done it.

"Sorry," Jaimie finished her explanation quietly as James walked into the room. His eyes swept between student and teacher analytically.

"Oh," her teacher blinked, obviously surprised by Jaimie's answer, "…well, it happens to all of us at some point, I suppose. Just…make sure you get it in to me by tomorrow if you want late credit."

Nodding furiously, Jaimie turned to her book to hide her face in it, wishing the day would just end already.

It didn't help that she was acutely aware of James's eyes fixed on her from across the room.

Thankfully, it wasn't long before their chemistry teacher walked in, and once class started, Jaimie found some peace of mind by immersing herself into the lecture material.

Yes, for a few blissful moments Jaimie forgot about everything that wasn't chemistry-related.

That is, until she saw the note.

It wasn't hard to spot the piece of paper as it began to make its way around the classroom, sometimes folded neatly down the middle, sometimes rolled into a crumpled ball to be tossed across the room.

It travelled up one row and down the next, and, as always, the only one oblivious to it was the teacher.

Jaimie tried to focus on her work, but for some reason she could not squash the sneaking feeling that somehow the note was about her.

When the note reached James, Jaimie couldn't help but stare as he unfolded it, smoothing it out gently on top of his desk.

His blue eyes swept it, and Jaimie tried hard to catch a glimpse of his face, but it was no use. It only took him a few seconds to read what was there before he folded it back up, but to Jaimie's surprise, instead of passing it along, he carefully pocketed the note and went back to listening to the teacher as if nothing had happened.

Jaimie took in nothing of what the teacher was saying after that, instead wondering obsessively over the note in James's pocket. What did it say? Who was it from? Had it been about her or was it meant for him?

The minutes ticked by, agonizing and slow, and, finally, Jaimie decided to put all thoughts of the note completely from her mind. It wasn't like she was going to confront James over it anyways, she thought, but in the end, she didn't even have to.

James brought the note to her.

It was after class, once everyone else had cleared out, that he made his way towards Jaimie's desk. She tried hard to avoid his eyes, pretending not to notice him until he stopped directly in front of her.

Reluctantly, Jaimie looked up into those forget-me-not blue eyes and winced when she saw them– the horrible red spots in the center.

They sent a chill down Jaimie's spine.

"H-hello," she began tentatively.

_**BAM!**_

Jaimie jumped as the boy's hand slammed onto the top of her desktop. Heart-racing, she stared down at the desk as he let his hand fall, leaving the note behind.

Jaimie anxiously skimmed the paper as James stared her down.

It didn't take long for her to realize the note was, indeed, about her…and it took even less for her to realize how malicious it was.

Jaimie pushed the paper away from her, fighting the stinging in her eyes. It hurt, yes, but mostly what she was feeling was indescribably, helplessly _angry_.

Refusing to let him see her cry, Jaimie hid her face in her arm and turned to leave, but James grabbed her by the shoulder, whirling her back around.

Then, pulling her other arm away from her face, he snatched the note off of the desk and held it up in front of her.

"_Look at it," _he demanded, dangling it before her nose.

Jaimie wriggled in his grasp, but his grip just tightened on her wrist.

"Let go of me!" she cried angrily. She beat on him with her fist, but James barely seemed to notice.

"Look!" he insisted, talking over her, "They wrote this about you – _doesn't that make it true_?"

When she still wouldn't look, he shook her by the arm, pressing the note closer to her face.

"Stop!"

"It says right here that you're an _awkward_—"

"I said, '_Stop'_!"

"—_geeky_—"

"_Leave me alone!" _Jaimie shouted, slapping the paper out of James's hand. Furious, now, and a little afraid, Jaimie shoved him back away from her as hard as she could. She fell backwards into a chair as James let her go, stumbling into a nearby desk.

Before he could recover or say anything more, Jaimie clumsily turned from the room and ran out, leaving her backpack behind.

She took deep breaths as she rushed out into the hallway. A couple of students passed her, staring, as she tried to compose herself. Afraid that James would come after her, Jaimie slipped into a nearby bathroom, locking the door with shaking hands.

She had to hide – hide from her classmates, hide from the boy she had read about so lovingly as a child, and hide from what she was starting to fear was the way that everyone saw her.

* * *

><p>Facilier stood in front of the clock in one of the hallways, alternately taking a drag of his cigarette with one hand and fanning the smoke away with a copy of the school newspaper in the other. It would be problematic if the smoke alarm interrupted he and Ursula's meeting, but still, he needed to calm his nerves.<p>

His shadow danced around him in agitation, tugging at his pant leg impatiently. It was incredibly distracting, but Facilier just kicked it off and went back to clearing his head.

True, he had foiled Ursula's plans once, but he knew better than to underestimate her. That would be an extremely deadly mistake. The sea witch was one of the most powerful magicians of the time. Compared to her, he was just a crackpot with a handful of fake card tricks.

'_Forget it,' _he told himself, shrugging his shoulders like he could shake the stress right off. He couldn't let her get to him. He had the upper hand in all of this. At least, he liked to think so.

6:55 came around all too soon, and Facilier put his cigarette out reluctantly as his shadow spun circles around him. Slipping his deck of tarot cards from his pocket, he tossed them from hand to hand and started down the hallway. His shadow followed him eagerly, and Facilier couldn't help but think that sometimes – on rare occasions – it was nice to have its company.

As he made his way through the halls, Facilier made sure to place three very specific cards on top of his deck – the cards he would tell Ursula were from Jaimie's reading. They were just the cards Ursula would want to see, but they couldn't be any farther from the cards in Jaimie's true reading. No one needed to know those cards but him.

Tucking the carefully arranged tarot cards back into his pocket, Facilier rounded the corner near the lockers and paused as a figure ducked quickly behind one of them. His shadow shot forward and glanced back at Facilier, puzzled as to why he was stopping.

Instantly on guard, Facilier crept silently along the row of lockers, impatiently motioning for the shadow to get back and stay down. He wouldn't put it past Ursula to try something dirty. It could be a trap – or worse – but he wouldn't let her pull something on him so easily.

Quietly, he pressed his back to the locker, taking a deep breath. Then, counting to three silently in his head, Facilier whirled around, tossing a handful of his explosive purple smoke powder onto the ground.

Sparks flew, and his silhouette stood tall and black in the reflection of the smoke as he cried, in his most impressive, intimidating voice, "_Who goes there?_"

A scream interrupted him just as he was about to launch into a truly spectacular, ghostly voodoo rant, and before he could react, a book came sailing out of the darkness, coming down with a crash over the top of his head.

"_Ow_! What the hell?" he cried. His shadow screeched silently as he tried the dispel the remaining smoke with his hand.

"Facilier?" came a tentative voice.

"_You,"_ Facilier snapped, squinting into the dim glow of the hallway. There sat Melody on the carpeted floor, glaring up at him from where she must have fallen. Getting to her feet haughtily, the girl marched past him and snatched up the book she had thrown at him.

"Jesus, what is that, a dictionary?" Facilier griped, rubbing his head gingerly. His shadow shot out at Melody defensively, but recoiled at the look in the girl's stormy blue eyes.

"Well, what do you think you're doing, scaring me like that?" she shot back, opening her locker door with a bang. She shoved the book back inside and then glared at him, putting her hands on her hips.

"I don't know. Why are you still here at this time of night?" Facilier asked impatiently, shooting a glance at the clock.

"For your information," Melody answered curtly, "I was seeing the nurse about my head."

"For four hours?"

"It _is_ a concussion," the girl muttered, ignoring his jab.

"So you thought you'd give me one, too?"

Melody stared down at her feet, blinking rapidly. _'Oh no…' _Facilier thought. Just what he needed right now.

"…I won't be able to swim," she continued, teeth clenched, "I'm out the rest of the season."

He didn't need to see her face, hidden by the curtains of her dark hair, to know that she was crying. Facilier sighed and glanced from the clock to Melody and back again. He _really_ didn't have time for this.

"Well…it's not my problem," he said brusquely, taking a step away from the girl.

"Not your problem?" she cried, starting after him down the hallway, "Not your problem?! _You're _the one who pulled me onto the _hard, tile floor_!"

"Uh, yeah, as I was saving you from blood-thirsty eels," Facilier countered, quickening his pace, "Eels whose mistress will be meeting with me in…oh, well, would you look at that. Seems I'm late. No thanks to _you_!"

"I –" the girl began to protest, nearly running to keep up with him.

"Yes sir. Late and _alone_," Facilier muttered, talking more to himself now. All of his anxiety seemed to be rushing back to him. He would have killed for another cigarette. _Literally._

"Well, why do you think I hung around so long?" Melody said angrily, "It's not like I was getting my head checked this whole time!"

"Yeah, well, you could use it, that's for—" Facilier paused suddenly and looked back at Melody, "…What did you say?"

Melody stopped, too, suddenly self-conscious.

"I just thought...I just thought it seemed a little dangerous. You know, to go in there alone."

She refused to make eye contact with him, and with good reason, Facilier thought, staring at her the way he was, like she had grown a second head. His shadow, too, didn't seem to know how to react, looking between the two of them with a keen interest.

Facilier opened his mouth as if to say something, and then faltered, awkwardly fumbling with the cards in his pocket for lack of something to say to the girl in front of him. Luckily, she broke the silence first.

"Besides," Melody brushed off casually, trying to recover from her admission, "this concerns me, right? If I'm…If I'm a Disney character."

"…I suppose so," Facilier admitted finally, still a bit jarred. He turned and gestured in the direction of the cafeteria, "Shall we?"

Without waiting for an answer from her, he walked down the line of lockers toward the cafeteria doors. It didn't take long for Melody to catch up, stepping carefully alongside of his dark and twisted shadow.

Yes, sometimes it was nice to have the company…

* * *

><p><strong><span>Disclaimer<span>:**

**I do not own any of the Disney characters.**

**To my readers, if there is a character you would really love to see in this story, let me know in a review or in a private message, and I would be glad to work them in! Most characters will appear eventually, but it is possible I overlooked someone. **

**Thank you so much for reading! Please rate and review, and I will try to update more frequently!**


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